


One last night

by tveckling



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: Big Brother Mercutio, Canon Compliant, Family Fluff, Gen, Takes place after Mercutio gets home after the Capulet ball, The author is not a nice person, Valentine is like 10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 14:30:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14082978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: “Things you said when you kissed me goodnight”





	One last night

Valentine was pouting. It was an expression that would only be brought out by his brother, which was why his nurse was looking reproachfully at Mercutio when he rushed through the door. With a huff Valentine crossed his arms and looked elsewhere, pretending with childish anger that his brother wasn’t there. The candlelight showed his red-rimmed eyes, and he kept fighting down yawns; it was long past his bedtime, but clearly he had refused to go to bed. The nurse stood up with a relieved sigh and kissed Valentine’s forehead, then crossed the room—directing yet another _look_ Mercutio’s way—and disappeared through the door, closing it behind her. Mercutio chewed on his lip for a second, then sighed and walked over to simply throw himself face-down into Valentine’s bed. 

Where he stayed, silent and unmoving. 

Seconds passed by, long and unbearable, and then Valentine muttered, “What are you doing?”

Mercutio raised his head, just high enough to look at Valentine. “I would insist I exist here and now, but since you act in a manner suggesting otherwise I must be a dead man. Or else a blanket; a far too handsome rug to lay across your feet when you freeze.” And then he let his head fall again, once again lying completely motionless. 

Slowly, with a calculating look, Valentine crawled across the bed and reached out a finger, poking at Mercutio. Then he did it harder. When still no reaction came he threw himself on top of his brother, laughing loudly when Mercutio rolled around and wrapped arms and legs around him, holding him tight. 

“Or maybe I was just pretending to be dead, so as to lure you into a trap and capture you!” he said, growling while Valentine giggled. 

“And what will you do now?”

Mercutio grinned maniacally. “Now? Now I will do _this_!” 

Valentine shrieked his laughter as Mercutio tickled him, his hold too tight to let Valentine wriggle himself loose. 

“Stop, stop! I can’t- I can’t breathe!” Valentine gasped in-between bouts of helpless laughter. 

“Do you surrender?” 

“Yes! Yes, I- yes!”

With a snort Mercutio stopped the tickling, simply holding Valentine as he lied down again. While Valentine fought to regain his breath Mercutio looked up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry,” he said, momentarily tightening his hold before loosening it again. “I meant to come home earlier.”

“You missed my bedtime. Even though you _promised_ you’d tell me how the ball went,” Valentine muttered against Mercutio’s collarbone. 

“I know, I know.” Mercutio sighed. “And you _really_ should be asleep now, you know. No stories tonight. How about I tell you all of it tomorrow instead? As an apology I’ll tell you any details you want, even the boring ones.” Why did his brother have to be so interested in music and dances rather than the pretty people? Maybe it would change as he grew older. At least Mercutio hoped so, or else he would have to keep spending his energy remembering all those boring things so he could see Valentine’s delighted smile. 

“Really?” As expected Valentine pushed himself up on his elbows—only slightly painful as they ground into Mercutio’s chest—and beamed. “You promise? Really promise?”

“Really, really,” Mercutio agreed, finally managing to breathe without pain again as Valentine lied down and hugged him tight. With a smile he patted Valentine’s head. “I will be spending the day with Benvolio, but I give you my word that I’ll be back for supper. Which, yes, means that I will tell you all the stories you want afterwards. But that means you have to go to sleep now. The sooner you fall into slumber, the sooner tomorrow will come, after all.”

At cue Valentine yawned loudly, and Mercutio snickered. Valentine scoffed and punched him, but then yawned again. After a moment he shrugged and burrowed closed into Mercutio’s side. “You broke your promise,” he said with a muffled voice, “so you have to stay until I fall asleep.”

Mercutio laughed and shook his head. “As my prince commands. However, dare I request that we move further up the bed? There are pillows there,” he added conspiratorially. Valentine hummed, then moved away with a nod. 

As soon as they were under covers Valentine curled up against Mercutio again, burrowing in under his arm. No one could ever be allowed to see the smile Mercutio wore, no one but Valentine, for whom Mercutio would break all rules. Even those he had put on himself. 

“May Mab bless your dreams,” Mercutio whispered and pressed his lips into Valentine’s hair. Already the boy was slipping into slumber. For a long while Mercutio only watched him, smiling and feeling content. He had his jovial best friend back and he had managed to alleviate his brother’s anger. Now all he had to do was make sure he remembered all those boring dances so he could tell Valentine about them. 

But that was a task for tomorrow.


End file.
